Resuming a life never lived
by Rising From The Flames
Summary: after the war is over everyone has to try and resume their old life, but will Harry be able to resume a life he has always longed for, but never had? post war. As close to the books as possible. Mostly H/G, some Hr/R. Rated T just to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

I'm sorry it's a little short, but this is my first fan fic and I'm still trying to figure out how it all works. I hope you like it. Pleas review.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the character, settings etc. all of which belong to J. (who is a genius).

**Celebration and Mourning**

Harry, Ron and Hermione left the office in silence. Harry stared at the wreckage surrounding him. Many paintings had large gashes in them, while others had been reduced to splinters and rags. Suits of armor had been damaged badly by the force of spells ricocheting off them and were lying in macabre positions. Huge chunks of walls had been blown off and the floor was covered in blood. Every so often they passed a body that had yet to be found and removed. One time they passed two houselves lying next to each. From the looks of it they had died defending an underage student. A sickening image of Dobby lying in the grass with a knife protruding from his chest came back to haunt Harry.

Harry took in all of this in a state of dazed shock. He seemed unable of any feeling at the moment, which he was grateful for. Ron and Hermione were walking hand in hand, both silently looking at the destruction around them. Harry didn't know where they were going, but he felt like he had to keep walking. He wished he could keep on walking forever. Walking away from the aftermath of the war, and the deaths that were all his fault, and the guilt and despair that he knew would engulf him the moment the veil that was keeping all feeling away was lifted.

"Uhm, Harry." He looked up "We're going to go back to the great hall." Hermione said. Harry hadn't noticed until then that they had already reached the great hall. He nodded and kept on walking. At the top of the huge marble staircase he stopped and looked down. The doors were open and light was spilling out. He could hear the sounds of people mourning for the ones they lost, and others celebrating the fall of the most feared wizard of all time.

Harry saw flash of red hair and saw Ginny lean her head against Mrs. Weasleys shoulders. Her face was clear of all emotion, and she was staring at the wall opposite her. Harry felt a longing springing up inside of him to charge into the great hall and hold Ginny in his arms. To comfort her and never let her go, but he couldn't make his feet move. It was his fault that her brother had been killed, she probably wouldn't want to ever see him again.

He continued walking. The steady rhythm of his feet was all that kept him from breaking down. After what seemed like years he came to the portrait of the fat lady. The painting was swinging slightly on one of its hinges, and a huge chunk of the corner was missing.

"Can I go in?" Harry asked hesitantly.

"It's not like I can do anything about it." She replied rather crossly. Then her face lighted up when she realized who it was. "Well done" She added proudly.

When Harry got to his dormitory he lay down on his bed but couldn't get to sleep. Images of the battle kept coming back to him whenever he closed his eyes.

Suddenly the image of Ginny almost being hit by a killing curse was pushed momentarily out of his mind by a hesitant knock on the door. Without waiting the door was opened.

"Hey" Ron said weakly as he walked in. Harry didn't respond. He just kept staring at the canopy above his bed. Ron lay down on his bed and stared at the canopy too. Suddenly a realization hit Harry and he voiced it to Ron.

"Voldemort is gone." Harry said blankly.

"I know" Ron said as though he thought Harry had lost it during the battle.

"No, I mean, he killed my parents, he tried to kill me every year since I've known I'm a wizard, I spent an entire year learning about horcruxes so I would able to kill him, We spent months destroying horcruxes, and working towards destroying him, and now he's finally gone." Ron was silent, but Harry knew that he was just as relieved.

Then another thought struck Harry, What was he going to do now that Voldemort was gone. His whole life in the wizarding world so far had revolved around Voldemort. He had considered being an auror for a little while, but he hadn't given it too much thought. He hadn't really expected to live through the battle.

Then his thoughts returned to Ginny. She was probably going to return to school to finish her final year at Hogwarts, but what about after that? She would eventually get married. At this thought the image of Ginny walking up the isle with a dark stranger came back to him and he could feel a piercing pain in his chest. Ginny would fall in love with someone else and he would have to watch the girl he loved marrying someone else.

This thought was too painful and blocked it out. He felt jealous of everyone else. They could just resume the lives they had been leading before the battle started. Harry felt like his whole life had led up to this battle, and he didn't know what to do now that it was over.

But all those other couldn't resume the same life they had been living before the battle either. So many people had lost friends or family during the battle, no one would be able to return to their old lives easily. Ron seemed to be thinking along the same lines as Harry, for he said

"What are we going to do now that it's over?"

"Well, at least I won't have people watching my every move either trying to protect me or kill."

"Mate, your so famous every witch in the world will be watching your every move." Ron said jokingly

"Well, at least I won't have to worry about people trying to kill me anymore." Just then the door slammed open, making Harry and Ron jump.

"I wouldn't be so sure of that mate" Ron said, moving as far away from the door as possible without falling off the bed.


	2. Chapter 2

Once again it's a little short, but I liked the way it ended. I'm going to start writing fan fics about other subjects and I'm wondering if I should do that on this account or make another one for other stories. Please take the poll on my account so I know whether or not to open a new account.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the any part of the Potter world, all of it belongs to J. K. Rowling.

**The Aftermath of War**

A furious Ginny was standing in the open doorway. Harry could almost see sparks flying from her eyes, and her earlier state of no emotion seemed to have gone.

"You!" She said pointing at Harry, and walking slowly towards him. Harry backed away as far as he could. "How dare you die on me?!" There were now tears sparkling in the corners of her eyes. Harry wanted to comfort her, but he also wanted to run as far away from her as he could. Ginny was terrifying when she was in this kind of mood.

"Gin, calm down." Harry tried to say soothingly, but she ignored him.

"How could you?! Do you know how much it hurt me to see Hagrid carrying your dead body! How much it hurt all off us!"

"Ginny, I…"

"How can you always be so selfish?! You never think about how all of us feel when you go off and risk your neck!" She was now sobbing hysterically, and shaking with anger.

"But Ginny, I'm not dead." Harry said, trying to understand her mood.

"BUT YOU COULD HAVE BEEN!" She shouted, and with that she turned on her heel and stormed out the door. Harry and Ron could hear her sobs fade as ran down the staircase, through the common room and out of Griffindor Tower.

"What's gotten into her?" Ron asked, flabbergasted at the way his little sister had behaved.

"Don't know." Harry said, but he thought he had a pretty good idea what had caused her anger. He had caused the death of her brother. Blaming him for dying was probably just a way to let out her anger at the fact that he was still alive and Fred wasn't. As he had assumed when he walked by the great hall earlier, Ginny Weasley was furious at him.

"She might just be more dangerous than you-know-who." Ron said half joking, stopping Harry's train of thought. "I would watch my back if I were you mate." Harry tried to force a smile onto his face, but was unsuccessful.

"I'm sure she won't stay mad at you for long." Ron said, catching on to Harry's melancholy.

"Thanks for trying to make me feel better, but I doubt she's going to forgive me." Harry saw Ron process what he had just said, and Ron's ears started turning red, a sign that he was getting angry.

"What did you do to her?" He inquired, trying to keep from shouting.

"I was the cause of her brother's death, who would forgive me after something like that. I'm surprised you're even still talking to me." Ron calmed down again at this, and returned to trying to comfort Harry.

"It wasn't your fault."

"If I had just given myself over to Voldemort sooner no one would have had to die." Harry said, getting angry with himself.

"If you had given yourself over earlier you wouldn't have known not to fight back. Voldemort would have killed you and then gone to kill everyone still in the castle, and half the wizarding world." Harry tried to think of something else to say, but what Ron had said made sense. After what a while Harry said, more to himself than Ron

"If only I had managed to find and destroy all the horcruxes sooner."

"We did our best mate, there was no way to avoid people dying. It was a war, people die in wars. " Ron looked at Harry, saw that he was not convinced, and added "Fred, Lupin, Tonks and all those other people who died, they all knew what they were getting themselves into. They knew there was a good chance they wouldn't make it." Harry was just getting angrier with himself.

"I didn't come up here for a lecture. I know I'm going to plenty of them from Hermione, so why don't you just leave me alone."

Harry knew had hurt Ron, but he didn't care at the moment. He just wanted to fall asleep and leave the battle behind.

When Harry woke up the dormitory was empty. He didn't know how long he had slept, but from the light filtering through the window it looked like it was around twelve. Harry made his way down stairs into the common room, hoping to find Ron there. He had been a jerk last night and, as much as he dreaded it, he knew he had to apologize.

When he got down into the common room he saw Hermione and Ginny asleep in armchairs next to each other. He started walking past them as quietly as possible, but halfway to the portrait he stopped. His attention was drawn to the red head sleeping peacefully next to his best friend. Her face was carefree and there was a small smile playing at the corners of her lips. After a few minutes he managed to tear his gaze away, but a very small smile had remained on his face.

Harry found Ron sitting under a tree and staring out at the lake. He was lost in thought and didn't realize Harry was there until he sat down next to him.

"Hey" Harry said timidly.

"Hey" Ron replied.

"Listen, I'm sorry about last."

"It's no big deal, we're all having a hard time."

"But I had no right to get angry at you."

"Harry, like I said, it's no big deal."

"Yes it is!"

"Just drop it, will you?" Ron said. Harry wanted to reply, but didn't. They both sat staring at the lake for what seemed like hours. Finally Ron said

"Do you think they've served lunch yet? I'm starving." He rubbed his stomach longingly.

"I was wondering when the old Ron was going to return." Harry said laughing.

Lunch had been served and they joined Hermione and Ginny at the Gryffindor table. It was quiet in the great hall; nobody seemed to have the energy to talk. The four of them ate in silence. Harry stole glances at Ginny every so often. She looked sad and was just picking at her food. One time Harry looked up to find her staring at him, and they both quickly looked down, blushing.

They soon gave up trying to farce food down their throuhts, and just sat in silence, staring at the table. After what could have been days Mrs. Weasley came hurrying towards them. Her eyes were red and her face was covered in tear stains. After a few moments she managed to say

"Were leaving," in the most cheerful voice she could muster, and then walked away again. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny looked around at each other in shocked silence. They were leaving?

I hope you liked it! Please review. The next chapter will be coming as soon as I have a chance to write it.


	3. Chapter 3

I'd like to thank yukikiralacus for pointing out to me that the four of them being shocked in the end was a little odd. I was already thinking on to the next chapter and didn't realize I hadn't explained that. So thanks for that, I probably would never have noticed if you hadn't pointed it out. I hope this chapter clears up your confusion!

I also want to start writing fan fics about other subjects. I've almost made up my mind to do that on this account, so if you have any objections please let me know!

**Disclaimer:** As always, I don't own any of the Harry Potter world, otherwise I would be J. K. Rowling (I wish!)

**Sunset**

The four young people stared at each other. They were leaving? The last few days Harry had felt almost like he was walking through a dream. He felt like time had stopped right after the battle. He had never thought about the fact that they were going to have to leave Hogwarts eventually. Now that Mrs. Weasley had said it, it seemed obvious and Harry was surprised he hadn't thought of it before.

From the expressions on the faces of the other three Harry knew none of them had thought of the possibility of leaving either.

"We should go" Ginny said after a long time. They slowly got up and walked out of the great hall. No one looked up at their passing. Everyone sitting in the great hall seemed to be in a state of dazed shock. Over in one of the corners Harry saw the Malfoys huddled together. Once in a while they whispered something to each other, but they seemed to be in mourning just like everyone else.

"The hallways were deserted. The mess had been cleaned up, but there was still a feeling of despair hanging over the place.

When they walked out onto the grounds Harry had to blink quickly against the blinding sunlight. The weather outside seemed to be opposing the emotions closed up in the castle. The four were quickly joined by remaining Weasleys and walked out of the Hogwarts grounds in silence. Once they got into Hogsmeade they all dissaparated back to the burrow.

The house looked forlorn without it's occupants in it. Harry didn't think he had ever seen the Burrow without at least one of the Weasleys in it. They slowly trooped inside.

At entering her house Mrs. Weasley seemed to get some of her old energy back.

"Alright everyone, enough moping around." She said briskly " Bill, Charlie,.." She halted for a second, but regained herself quickly "And George. The three of you set the table. Ron, Harry, Hermione and Ginny, come and help me make dinner." After having divide the jobs she walked off into the kitchen. Everyone looked at each other in surprise at her sudden mood swing, but obediently did as they were told.

Dinner was a quite affair that night. Whenever someone tried to start a conversation it would last for a few minutes, and then die away. Towards the end of dinner Ron half-heartedly tried to make a joke. George slammed his fork and knife down on the table and stomped up to his room. After that no one said anything.

Harry was sitting behind the shed staring at the sunset. The house had been painfully quite the past week, leaving too much time for thought. Harry liked to come and sit out in the garden and just stare at the landscape surrounding the burrow. He especially liked to watch the sun set. It reminded him that the time was still going and the world hadn't stopped during the war.

Harry heard a noise behind him and turned around. Ginny was standing there, the setting sun making her hair look like fire flowing down her back. A blush was creeping over her face and she refused to look at Harry. Harry figured she had been staring at him for a while.

"Hey" She said softly.

"Hey" Harry replied. There was an awkward silence, then Ginny walked over and sat down next to him. There was a rather large gap between them, but Harry was still highly aware of her proximity.

"It's beautiful," Ginny said wistfully, staring at the sinking sun.

"Huh?" Harry asked. He hadn't been paying any attention to what she just said; he had been too busy staring at her.

"The sunset, it's beautiful." She said, staring at it once again. Harry pulled his eyes away from her and looked too. "It makes you forget all the pain and suffering that exist in the world. Sometimes I feel like it's the only thing that keeps me from going crazy. When I'm sad I like to come out here and watch it, it reminds me that time doesn't stop, that no matter what the sun is going to rise and set everyday. It always calms me down." Harry had a sudden urge to laugh at the irony of it. He had been thinking almost exactly the same a few minutes ago, but he kept a straight face.

Harry was surprised at how calm Ginny was around him after her outburst the night before they left Hogwarts. He was even more surprised that she had sought out his company.

When he looked up from his reverie he found Ginny staring straight at him with a determined look on her face. Hesitantly said

"So, you probably have a girlfriend now."

I know it's a little short, but I hope you like it. It's been a little uneventful so far, but it will start getting more interesting hopefully in the next chapter, but I'm kind of making this up as I go along, so no promises. Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

**Here's chapter four. Hopefully I'll be able to get you the next chapter within a few days, but with school starting so soon I can't make any promises.**

**Disclaimer: As always, I do not own any of the Potter world. **

**Does That Mean We're Together?**

Harry just stared at her. Ginny didn't look at him; instead she stared off into the sunset.

"Why would you think I have a girlfriend?" He asked, completely surprised. Now it was her turn to be surprised.

"Well… Well… you're the famous Harry Potter and all that." She mumbled. Harry stared at her in disbelief.

"I don't have a girlfriend," He finally said, looking inquisitively at Ginny,

"Oh" She said emotionless, still staring off into the distance, but Harry thought he saw a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. There was a long awkward silence. Both felt the need to say something, but neither knew what to talk about.

"I was so worried about you all of last year." Ginny finally said. Harry didn't know what to say. He wanted to tell her how worried he had been. How he had watched her dot on the Marauders map every night, but he couldn't get the words out of his mouth. He finally settled for

"I was worried too."

"Why didn't you write or something to let everyone know you were OK. Mum was worried sick."

"Ginny, you know I couldn't have contacted anyone. We were all being watched. It would have put all of you in danger." Harry looked at her and saw tears threatening to spill out of her eyes.

"Why do you always have to be so damn noble!" Harry wanted to hold her, to comfort her, but he held himself back.

"What, did you expect me turn you all in?!" He asked, it came out harsher than he had intended it to. At this the tears started streaming down Ginny's face. Harry couldn't stand it anymore. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, comforting her. He expected her to turn away, but she lay her head down on his shoulder and wound her arms around his neck, sobbing into his shirt

.

By the time Ginny started to calm down the sun had already disappeared behind the horizon. He was enjoying holding her in his arms and didn't want to let go, but he knew he should. Suddenly a whisper brought him out of his thoughts.

"I love you Harry Potter." Harry was so surprised he jumped out of the embrace. Ginny was looking at him, her expression full of determination. At seeing the look of surprise on his face she quickly looked down and started playing with the grass while she spoke.

"I always have. I'm sorry if it makes you feel uncomfortable, but I needed you to know. It's just that you've been so distant the past week and…" But Harry shut her up by leaning in and kissing her on the lips. It started out gentle but grew quickly. All the suffering of the past year seemed to be blown away by that kiss. It felt as if a part of Harry had been missing up until that point.

Harry and Ginny lay on the grass outside the burrow. Ginny had her head on Harry's chest and he was running his hand through her long silky hair.

"I thought you would never want to speak with me again after what happened to Fred." Harry said. Ginny sat up and looked at him.

"What happened to Fred had nothing to do with you"

"If I had just given myself over to Voldemort no one would have died."

"Don't even say that." There were tears in her eyes again. "Just watching Hagrid carrying your limp body was torture enough don't even talk about what would have happened if you just gave yourself over."

"But…"

"No, what happened happened. There are things I wish hadn't happened, but they did, and there's nothing to do about it. There's no point in getting worried about things that can't be changed." She said, laying her head on his chest again.

"I guess you're right, I just wish so many people didn't have to die."

"Me too." She whispered. He continued stroking her hair.

"Time to come in!" They both jumped up. Mrs. Weasley's voice was getting louder.

When she came to the spot where Harry and Ginny had been lying moments earlier she found the pair looking a little embarrassed and standing very far away from each other. She didn't comment on it and just said. "It's getting dark, the two of you should come inside now." But when she turned around a huge smile lit up her face.

"Do you think she guessed that we're back together?" Harry whispered when Mrs. Weasley was once again out of sight.

"Knowing mum she'll already be planning a wedding." Ginny whispered back, joking. All of a sudden an image of Ginny walking up the isle to meet him wearing a white dress and looking dazzling popped into his mind. He put the image away for later, but he liked the idea.

"We should probably go inside" Harry said, taking Ginny's hand and pulling her along gently.

"There are two things I want to ask you first." Ginny said, stopping and pulling Harry to a stop beside her.

"Ask away." He wrapped his arms around her waist.

"First, does this mean we're together again?"

"What do you think?" He said, and then kissed her. After a few seconds they broke apart.

"Second question, are we going to tell everyone?"

"If we are, you get to tell Ron." Harry said seriously. Ginny shuddered at the idea.

"Let's wait a little while and let people kind of find out for themselves."

"What, are you scared of your own brother?" Harry teased. Ginny pretended to think for a minute.

"No." She said slowly. "But when it comes to my boyfriends I prefer to avoid the subject with my charming youngest brother." Harry laughed and they started walking again. Just before entering the house they released each other's hands and walked a considerate distance apart, still laughing.

**Hope you like it (As usual). Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

I'm sorry it took so long to publish anything, but I just started high school, so I've been a little busy lately. I've had one or two reviews that said the chapters on my stories were a little short. So I'm curious what everyone thinks. If you have any preference of story length, please let me know!

Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling and Warner bros own Everything Harry Potter.

**A New Terror**

Harry looked up into the darkening sky as the countryside flashed by.

"I wonder what Hogwarts will be like without Dumbledore?" Harry said sadly. Ginny comfortingly put her hand on Harry's arm, and leaned her head on his shoulder. Ron and Hermione had recently left the compartment to patrol the hallways. Hermione had been made Head Girl for their seventh years at Hogwarts, and Ron was still a prefect, so they had left to patrol the corridors. Neville had recently left to go to the bathroom, so they didn't have to worry about any of them seeing Harry and Ginny together, although Harry suspected that Hermione knew they were together again.

"It's too bad Luna decided not to come." Ginny said sadly. Luna had decided that she wanted to help her father with The Quibbler when she left Hogwarts, so she had decided that she didn't need to come back.

"Well, I do agree with her that, how did she put it? 'Hogwarts doesn't offer any courses that will help me find crumple horned snorkacks and see nargles.'" Harry said, trying to imitate Luna's faraway way of speaking. Ginny laughed and Harry joined her. It was so nice to be able to relax and not always feel like there was someone out there who wanted to kill you. Even though this was a pleasant change for Harry he could not get over the feeling that something was missing now that he didn't have to focus all his attention on Voldemort. He thought about what he would do after Hogwarts. His life had always been about destroying Voldemort, and he had never thought past the final confrontation, he also hadn't expected to survive the final battle. He had seen the defeat of Voldemort as a wall in his mind. A wall that when destroyed would burry Harry under the broken brick and dust, killing him too. A wall that had nothing on the other side.

But somehow he had managed to break down the wall and avoid the wreckage, leaving him to search for what the wall had been holding back.

Ginny squeezed his hand fondly. He looked at her and knew he had already found one of the things the wall had kept him separated from. He started to lean in to kiss her, but Ginny motion to the door with her head, subtly, so that only Harry saw it. He looked up and saw Hermione and Ron standing there.

"What's going on?" Ron asked accusingly.

"Harry thought he saw a bug in my hair and was going take it out for me. He said it was a spider." Ginny lied smoothly. Harry saw a twinkle in her eye as she spoke her last sentence. Ron paled.

"Spider." He squeaked. "Is it gone?" He tried to make his voice sound normal but failed miserably.

"Don't worry, it was probably just a speck of dust." Hermione said comfortingly, also seeing the gleam in Ginny's eyes and the smile playing at the corners of her lips.

When the train got to Hogwarts, they all got off. Ron seemed grateful to be out of the compartment. Hermione had told him multiple times that there was no spider, and getting more annoyed each time, but Ron was still extremely jumpy the rest of the ride. He wasn't the only one eager to get out of the compartment. Every time Ron jumped out of his seat Neville jumped, Harry pulled out his wand, ready to defend his friends, Ginny hid her face in embarrassment and Hermione was startle out of her sleep. Ron also usually managed to step on at least one person's foot. One time the train jolted violently and he was thrown on top of Harry and Ginny sitting opposite him. After that Ron stayed in his seat. Harry wasn't sure if this was because he was embarrassed after his fall, or because Ginny had promised to curse him into little pieces if he jumped up again.

The moment Harry stepped off the train he was engulfed by a mass of giggling girls, all asking for his autograph. He tried to get away and to a carriage, but they followed him.

He finally managed to get rid of them by getting into a carriage already occupied by Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Neville.

"This year is going to be a nightmare." Harry said darkly, as watched the now screaming girls fall behind, and the carriages started moving. No one said anything. Harry looked at Ginny and saw that she looked ready to curse the next girl who said anything to Harry. The rest of his friends seemed to think that Harry's new kind of popularity was hilarious.

Before Harry got out of the carriage he pulled his hood up so that his face was hidden, and it seemed to do the trick.

"_The first night at Hogwarts and I'm already dreading the rest of the year!"___He thought, feeling sorry for himself, and, by looks of it, any girl who tried to flirt with him while Ginny was around.

During the feast Hermione pulled his hood off because she said it was disrespectful. The stares that he soon felt made him loose his appetite and he just, waited for the feast to finish, and wondered how to get to his dormitory with being followed by what seemed like every female in the school.

When all the dishes were once again sparkling clean he decided he would just have to face the girls. After all, they couldn't be worse than Voldemort.

By the time he reached the entrance hall, he had changed his mind. Harry would rather have face Voldemort right then, than have all these girls follow him around all year.

The others had gone ahead off him, not wanting to be in the midst of a crowd of giggling girls either.

Soon after exiting the great hall he saw Ginny pushing her way through the crowd towards him. When she had finally made it she stood in front of him for a few seconds.

"I'm sick of this," She stated, gesturing at the girls surrounding them, then she leaned in and kissed Harry, rapping her arms around his neck. Harry was thoroughly confused, but he willingly kissed her back. After a few minutes they broke apart.

"What was that for?" Harry whispered into Ginny's ear.

"I was sick of all these girls flirting with you, so I wanted to show them that you already have a girlfriend. I also want them to know who they'll have to deal with if they ever try anything on you." She whispered back. Harry looked over her head at the girls who were assembled. He saw a few girls running away, others were crying into each other's shoulders, and some looked livid.

"I think you might just have made yourself some enemies." He whispered into her hair. He pulled back a little. "I thought we decided not to tell anyone yet?" Harry raised his eyebrows. Ginny grinned.

"We didn't tell anyone." Harry chuckled.

"I don't mind, but you get to deal with Ron."

I hope you like it! PLEASE REVIEW! If you don't like it, let me know what you don't like so I can keep it in mind for other stories. If you do like it, let me know what you liked, just _**PLEASE REVIEW!**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey! Sorry for the wait. Thank you so much for all the people who reviewed! It's really nice to know that people enjoy the story, and thanks for all the advice! Since I'm just not really that inspired for this story anymore I've decided to speed things up a little. I WILL FINISH THE STORY; it's just going to be a little shorter than originally intended. I'm sorry for those of you who wanted a really long story, but I just need to get this story finished and move on to a new one. **

**Disclaimer: As always, I do not own Harry Potter, just the events and plot that have nothing to do with the books are mine. XD**

**A Gaggle of Girls**

Harry was woken up the next morning by a ray of sunlight shining directly into his eyes. The sight awaiting him when he opened his eyes made him sit up so fast he almost fell out of bed. He instinctively yanked the covers up around his chin. There was a group of five giggling girls standing next to his bed, all staring at him.

"What the hell!" He shouted, making them giggle even more.

"What the bloody hell is going on?" Ron shouted from the next bed over. Harry heard a crash and Ron appeared next his bed massaging his head.

"Whasgoinon?" Dean mumbled from the other side of the room.

"Our dormitory's been invaded by girls." Seamus said, jumping out of bed.

"What are you doing in here?" Harry shouted at them. They giggled some more. Finally one managed to say

"We just wanted to say good morning." They doubled over in another burst of giggles, and shuffled out of the room. Harry collapsed back on his bed and covered his face with his hands.

"Great, more girls." Dean grumbled, stalking back over to his bed.

"If you don't leave this room this instant I swear I will make you wish you had never set foot in Hogwarts." Ron yelled, turning around. "Oh. I didn't realize who it was… thought it was someone else." Ron's voice trailed off.

"Smooth Ronald, very smooth." Hermione scoffed from the doorway.

"Harry, we just saw a group of girls leaving this room, is there something you need to tell me?" Ginny teased, giving him a quick kiss.

"Don't remind me. I woke up to five girls gawking over me." Harry grabbed his glasses from the bedside table and got up. Harry noticed Ginny giving his shirtless chest an appraising look. Unfortunately, Ron noticed too.

"Oy, what are you two doing in here anyway!" He yelled, his ears turning red. Harry looked away, a little embarrassed, but Ginny stared defiantly at her brother.

"We just came to let you know that classes start in an hour, so I would get ready quickly if you want breakfast." Ron stared at her, fuming. She gave Harry another, slightly longer kiss. When they broke apart her hands lingered on his bare chest. "See you downstairs." She said, smirking at Ron before turning and walking out the door.

"By the way, one of those girls was from Hufflepuff." Hermione added with a confused expression before following Ginny out.

Breakfast was same as the past years. McGonagall passed out the schedules, and informed Harry that he was Quiditch captain and should schedule tryouts soon. The day went by in a blur of faces and rooms that were all the same, and yet different than before.

The next day was the same, and the day after that, until the days, and then weeks faded into one. Ginny made the team as chaser along with a third year and a sixth year. Ron once again played keeper, and two second years became the beaters.

The only memorable parts of the weeks were quiditch practice, and the time he spent with Ginny wandering the grounds, or in secluded corners of the castle.

All too soon the first quiditch match of the season was looming up, and Harry felt the familiar excitement running the castle's occupants. The only strange thing was that most of the students were supporting

Gryffindor, even some girls from Huffelpuff (The opposing team).

Harry spent the days leading up to the match on the quiditch pitch or working out tactics for the match.

The day of the match found the Gryffindor team in the common room. The third and sixth years chasers looked nervous, and the two beaters were green, but Harry felt surprisingly calm. He noticed that Ginny and, to his surprise, Ron also looked calm.

As they walked onto the pitch the crowds cheered. For the first time since Harry arrived, the castle felt like the one he knew.

**I hope you liked it. Sorry that it turned out to be another short chapter, but I think the next one will be longer. I'm going to try to get it out as fast as possible! PLEASE REVIEW, REVIEW ARE REALLY APRECIATED! Thanxs XD**


	7. Chapter 7

**So, here's the next chapter. I AM TRYING TO DECIDE WHETHER I'M GOING TO LEAVE THE STORY AT THIS AND MAKE THIS THE LAST CHAPTER OR IF I SHOULD WRITE ONE MORE CHAPTER (Probably an epilogue) PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK! OTHERWISE THIS WILL PROBABLY BE THE LAST CHAPTER! Now, after that. I do have one more chapter planned for this, but this chapter also had a nice sense of closure to it, so I can't decide if I should just leave it at this. Thanks to mona moi and anya for reviewing. Anya, I know exactly how you feel. So, after my long speech, here is what might be the last chapter, I hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: I'm tempted to say that I own Harry Potter, but I would probably get in big trouble. Oh well, I Do Not Own Harry Potter :'(**

**Saying Goodbye**

Harry was sitting under a tree staring out at the frozen lake, remembering all of his previous years at Hogwarts. The teachers were starting to prepare the seventh years for their NEWTS, and most of them spent half the class lecturing on career choices, and how to achieve your chosen career. Harry was still taking all the classes needed to become an auror, but he had a hard time imagining himself working for the ministry after all they had put him through. Kingsley had taken over as minister, and he was a doing an amazing job dealing with the after effects of the war.

There was a shuffling sound behind him, and Harry jumped to his feet, pulling out his wand. When he saw that it was only a girl he breathed a sigh of relief and reminded himself that he didn't have to worry about being attacked anymore. The girl stared terrified at the wand that had been pointing at her face a moment ago.

"Um… I…. I just wanted to give you these." The she said timidly, before shoving a box of chocolate into his hands and running away. Harry stared at the chocolate. Remembering another instance where a girl he didn't know had given him chocolate he removed the top of the box, and quickly performed a spell scanning the chocolates for magic. As Harry had thought, the girl had added a love potion to the chocolates.

"Hey," He looked behind him and saw Ginny. "What's that?" She asked, pointing to the box.

"Chocolates. Some girl just gave them to me." Ginny's eyes narrowed. "She added love potion to them." Harry added. He swore he could feel the anger emanating from the redhead in front of him. She took a deep breath.

"I'll be right back." Ginny said sweetly. Harry felt sorry for the girl who had given him the chocolates.

"I don't think you'll be bothered by girls anymore." Hermione greeted Harry as he sat down at the Gryffindor table in the great hall.

"Why?" He asked.

"I walked past the hospital wing on my way down here and saw the five girls who led the Harry Potter Fan Club in there, covered in bat boogies." Harry laughed; of course Ginny would have used the Bat Bogy hex. Ron still looked confused.

"The Harry Potter Fan Club?" Hermione gave him an exasperated stare.

"The point is that no one is going to dare to pull any moves anymore."

"Wait till Ginny hears!" Ron said happily. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"I don't know why I even bother." She muttered before leaving the hall.

The rest of the year passed without incident. The girls no longer bothered Harry, although Ginny still acted very possessive whenever they were around, much to Ron's annoyance. Gryffindor won the quiditch cup. The NEWTS had gone smoothly, although Hermione still insisted she had failed every test.

Teachers kept coming up to Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny where they were sitting in the great hall. They all seemed intent in expressing to Harry how proud they were to have taught him, and how sorry they were to see him leaving Hogwarts. McGonagall surprised everyone by giving him a hug, and Flitwick burst into tears upon approaching the table. Gryffindor won the house cup by far, mostly because of the 500 points awarded to Harry for the defeat of Voldemort. At the awarding of these points all four tables erupted into cheers.

The next morning was the usual chaos. Harry watched as people ran around the common room, packing last minute things and trying to get cats back into their cages. When he could no longer stand the stares, he left the common room to wander the halls. As he wandered he seemed to be walking through the past. He saw the school as it looked when he arrived for the first time, he saw Mrs. Norris, petrified, hanging on the wall and felt a pang remembering what Ginny went through that year. Sir. Cadogan leading them up to the divination room, the great hall in the splendor of the ball held in honor of the tri wizard tournament, Dumbledore standing on the tower, talking to Malfoy.

Without realizing it his feet had taken him to the griffin guarding the headmasters office. The entrance still looked exactly like it did after the war. In tribute to Dumbledore the office remained unused even though McGonagall took up the post of headmistress. Harry walked up the winding staircase and into the office he knew so well. Unlike the entrance, the office was in perfect condition.

"Ah, Harry, I thought I might see you before you left." Harry had to swallow to keep from at the sound of Dumbledore's voice. "There is something troubling you."

"It's nothing, professor." Dumbledore stared at him with his piercing blue eyes. "It's just, my entire life seemed to lead up to defeating Voldemort, and now that it's done, I don't know what to do."

"Now, Harry, you get what I had always hoped for you. You get to live a normal life." There was a pause. "Harry, one of the hardest challenges of an adventure like the one you went through is moving on afterward, but I know that you will do it with flying colors."

"Yes, sir."

"Have you spoken to Miss Weasley about this yet. I'm sure her words will be a lot more comforting that those of a portrait of an old man."

"I don't want to ask her to help me carry this burden, professor." Dumbledore stared at him for a moment.

"You should get moving if you want to catch your train."

"Yes, sir." Harry turned to leave."

"One more thing, Harry. As I am no longer your headmaster I think Albus would be more appropriate."

"Thank you, sir."

"Albus, Harry, Albus"

"Goodbye, Albus"

The train ride back to London was uneventful. As it rolled into the station kids hung out of windows, waving at their parents. When the train stopped completely there was a rush of people getting off. Parents hugged their children, students said goodbye to their friends. A group of girls was standing off to the side saying tearful goodbyes. Harry noticed that two of them were from Slytherin. It seemed the war had brought everyone together in the end.

"Let's go." Ginny said, pulling Harry by the hand. They walked out onto the platform. Everyone who Harry passed waved at him. Some shouted goodbyes. One little girl even asked for an autograph.

They finally made it to Mrs. Weasley. She pulled them all into a tight hug.

"It's so good to see you all. Let's get you all home." She said, putting a stalling hand on Ginny's shoulder, who was glaring at a group of girls batting their eyelashes at Harry.

"Let's go." Ginny said softly, taking Harry's hand. He knew it would take some time getting used to no Voldemort and no Hogwarts. But holding Ginny's hand in his, he felt ready to face whatever challenges were ahead of him.

**As always, PLEASE REVIEW! And let me know whether you want another chapter! Thanks! XD**


	8. Epilogue

**Well, here's the last chapter. IF YOU LIKED THE WAY THE LAST CHAPTER ENDED AND DON'T WANT TO READ ANYMORE STOP READING NOW! So, for those of you who do want an epilogue, here it is. This is how I imagined it ending from the moment I came up with the idea for this story (with minor differences). It's thanks to junebugbug96 that I ended up writing the epilogue, as she was the only one that reviewed on the last chapter, and I was impatient to finish the story so I didn't wait for more reviews. Just in case there is any confusing, this takes place about three years after the last chapter ended. Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. :'(**

**Epilogue**

Harry stared at his reflection in the mirror. After leaving Hogwarts everything seemed to have gone by so fast. Not a month had past before the British National Quidditch team had offered him the post of seeker, which had accepted. Thanks to Harry they had been one of the best teams in the world for the past three years, equaled only by the Holly Head Harpies, who had welcomed an extremely excited Ginny as a chaser.

There was a knock on the door, and Harry jumped. Before he could say anything the door opened and Ron walked into the room.

"When did you get here?" Harry asked, as he gave Ron a quick hug.

"Just now. Hermione is catching up with Ginny."

"How was the honeymoon?" Harry asked, grinning up at his friend.

"It was awesome. Hermione seemed to enjoy herself too, except she kept trying to get me to eat all this weird French food." Harry laughed; it was good to see his best friend again. Ron and Hermione had been in France for the past two months on their honeymoon. For some reason Ron had actually been surprised when Hermione had said yes to his proposal. Harry couldn't help a smile from spreading over his face at the memory of how hard it was to convince Ron to ask her.

"Luna got here at the same time as us. She's also with Ginny right now, but she told me to tell you that Neville will be here as soon as possible, but he's got some kid in detention right now. Apparently people are still trying to fill Fred and George's shoes. He didn't write up the kid who hung Harry Potter Rocks posters on every available surface of the castle, he wrote up the kid who was trying to take them down." Ron said, a grin flashing across his face despite the mention of Fred. Fred's death remained a touchy subject, but everyone seemed to be getting used to the idea and were to mention him again. George had had the hardest time adjusting, but he married Angelina a couple months after Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny left Hogwarts, and she and their now one-year-old son were helping get over the loss of his twin. Their son, Freddy, was already stealing his parent's wand and turning flowers into frogs, and other such pranks. George boasted about it every time they saw him.

"Did Luna find her Crumple Horned Snorckac yet?"

"No, but that's what she spends all her time doing while Neville is at Hogwarts."

"She hasn't changed much, has she?"

"No, and apparently you have nargles in your living room."

"Good to know, I'll avoid that room when Luna's around." Harry said, laughing.

The door opened again and Harry got a face full of bushy brown hair.

"Good to see you too Hermione." He said, a little winded.

"I have so much to tell. France was amazing."

"I would much rather not have all the details." Harry said, laughing. Hermione blushed.

"Anyway, I came in here to tell you that you have five minutes." She beamed at him, before rushing out the door again.

"We should get going." Ron said, staring after her. "I still can't believe you invited Malfoy."

"Ron, Draco isn't as bad as he used to be, now that he's seen what the dark arts are truly about."

"I still can't believe it though." Ron said.

"To tell you the truth, I'm having a hard time believing it too. It was Hermione's idea, then Ginny invited him."

"I always thought Hermione was strange." Ron joked.

They walked out into the sun, and across the lawn towards a big white pavilion. Harry walked in and looked around. There were already a lot of people. He saw Hagrid in the back sitting next to his "little" brother Grawp, who had to bend down to keep from hitting his head on the top of the pavilion. He waved, then continued walked.

"Luna helped decorate." Ron whispered, pointing to the bunches of sunflowers scattered between bouquets of white roses adorning the pillars that help the tent up. Harry couldn't help but smile at his friend's strange beliefs. As he walked on he saw many familiar faces, all of them looking up as he walked passed and waving before returning to their conversations. McGonagall was talking to a now retired Sprout, Olivander was sitting off to the side by himself, looking completely at ease. Muriel was making her usual fuss. Up in the front row sat Mrs. Weasley. Harry wasn't surprised to see tears already down her face. She gave him and Ron an enthusiastic wave as they took their places at the altar.

Harry stared out at the crowd, not seeing any of them. He had faced giant spiders, dragons, inferi and even death, and yet he was he could feel his hands shaking as he waited. After what felt like forever a hush fell over the crowd as everyone turned in their seats.

Freddy came crawling up the isle in a mini tuxedo with flower pedals stuck in the folds of cloth and his wispy hair accompanied by aawwwws from the women in the crowd. Harry had explained the concept of a flower girl to Ginny, but she hadn't quit grasp the idea. Apparently the flowers hadn't made it past the door. When he reached Ron and Harry by the altar he crawled over to Ron and clasped on to his leg.

Freddy was followed by Hermione and Luna both wearing stunning egg yolk yellow dresses. Hermione looked a little self-conscious in the dress, but Luna was her normal, spacey self.

An Ohhhhh passed around the room as Ginny entered holding Mr. Weasley's arm. The moment she walked into the room Harry felt his nerves disappear. She looked magnificent in a long, white, off the shoulder dress. She smiled up at Harry, who smiled back. All of a sudden everything seemed to speed up. Before he knew it Mr. Weasley was offering Ginny's hand to him. He took it and turned to face the man leading the ceremony.

The man talked for a long time, but Harry didn't hear a word of it. All his attention was on the woman at his side. In what felt like seconds the man was proclaiming them husband and wife.

"You may kiss the bride." Harry turned to Ginny, and kissed her. In that one kiss all the doubts he ever had seemed to vanish. For the moment everything was exactly as it should. In that instant he knew that Voldemort was part of the past and he would have no trouble starting a new life with the woman he loved.

**There it is; Resuming a Life Never Lived in it's entirety. I hope the epilogue didn't spoil the story for anyone. As happy as I am to be done, It's kind of weird knowing that the story is over. Anyone, I want to thank all the people who reviewed this story. Here it goes,**

**Thank you so much: Emily31594, Charmaps, yukikiralacus, SparklyVamp, TakiMagic, , Obbessionsaremylife, hacofo, xxcookiesxx123, Halstead84, Libby, Hollistachick7, question-mark007, Levitress, ReedHollis4Ever, Zaryn, charlee13, mona moi and junebug. It's thanks to you guys that I ended up finishing this story at all. I want to give special thanks to Emily31594 for being the first to review and giving me really good advise when I was stuck. So thank you! **


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